If there is one thing that I ask my wife to make more than anything else, it’s her particular take on banana bread, zucchini bread falls in at a close second. To be honest, I’m a sucker for just about any bread that features nuts or vegetables… Or beer. The combination of flavors, textures and the aroma that fills the house while these breads are baking is something that really can’t be described, but belongs in every homeowners manual under “the first thing you should do to break in your new home.”
Apparently our friend Naomia feels the same way. She’s heading off on a tour of duty in Japan, and the one thing she asked my wife to make for her before she left was banana bread. You won’t hear any complaints from me. I’m glad she asked for it, because I, as the resident food blogger, get a mini-loaf all to myself.
As a matter of course, all of our mixed, kneaded or otherwise manipulated products have been handled in our very trusty K.A. mixer. Tonight’s foray into baking got me thinking that perhaps I could use my own cooking-specific mixer. In that bent, my guy-ish instincts are pulling me towards the Hamilton Beach Eclectrics Mixer, mostly because it just looks cooler.
The other reason I’d prefer to have my own Hamilton Beach Stand Mixer
is that I tend to abuse my cooking equipment a bit more heavily than my wife does, and I would prefer to leave hers pastry-fresh, rather than one that has been tainted with cooking oils or other ingredients that are harmful to the care and feeding of doughs and other bakery-type stuff that I have no comprehension of.
If I had to give a third reason, it’s because the Hamilton Beach® Mixer is quieter than our existing unit. That means I can actually talk to my wife while it’s disseminating all of the things that I feed a mixer when I’m attempting something unusual. while this might play out as a dismal failure culinarily, it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like my own toys to play with.
Having said that, I’ll let you in on my wife’s recipe. Please do enjoy!
Banana Nut Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8 Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 350Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 569mgCarbohydrates: 55gFiber: 3gSugar: 25gProtein: 8g
I think you deserve your own cool mixer. Make the purchase :)
Ripe bananas: If it is a dark yellow and has brown or black spots on it, it’s perfect. But BE CAREFUL…it takes less than 6 hours to go from perfectly ripe to nonedible mush (usually a solid black appearance is the tell-tell sign you’ve let it go too long). When your bananas give off the perfumed banana smell *an almost sweet smell* they will enrich the bread with flavor. If you, like me, can’t remember when to check your bananas, just buy the discounted bundle for less than a dollar at your local grocer. This bunch of 7 cost 37 cents. I tossed one and used six (we REALLY like bananas).
I haven’t made banana bread in so long. I must think it will happen some day, because once those bananas start getting too ripe, I throw them in the freezer. Even though they’re black once they’re frozen, they still make great muffins and pancakes!
As you seem to be, I am a huge fan of banana bread as well. Although baking is certainly not my fortay, it is something that I like to do on a semi-regular basis. After looking for a good banana bread recipe, I came upon this one. I followed your recipe with the slight change of substituting the cup of butter for a cup of apple sauce. It still turned out super moist and yummy, but much healthier (around 600 less calories and less fat as well). Its a great way to feel less guilty about eating some of our favorite foods (it works well for cakes and cupcakes too). Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for the recipe! It served me well : )